If the most recent activity is any indication, Carl Everett will never play
another game in a Red Sox uniform. According to major league sources, the
constantly misbehaving outfielder, who was sent home to Florida last weekend
following a four-game suspension, is being actively shopped by the Sox in trade
talks.

One source also indicated that the Sox are so desperate to dump Everett that
they may be willing to pay a large part of the $17.15 million he is owed over
the final two years of his contract. "They'll pay almost all of it,'' said
one general manager, who asked not to be identified. "They realize that
that's about the only way they can move him right now.''

Red Sox outfielder Carl Everett, whose
four-game suspension for insubordination ended last night, is not expected to
return today and could be placed on the 15-day disabled list. New information
surfaced yesterday that Everett's outburst toward manager Joe Kerrigan had
racial overtones, including the player's allegation that Kerrigan called him a
racial epithet in January. ...

Also, a day after Pedro Martinez
departed for the Dominican Republic, there were new details about Martinez's
run-in with Kerrigan last Saturday, when Martinez ripped off his practice
jersey, threw it onto the field, and later returned in street clothes to shake
hands with teammates and say goodbye, according to several team sources.
Further, Manny Ramirez denied last night the assertion by one member of the team
that Ramirez had to be talked out of leaving the club for the rest of the
season.

Pedro Martínez left Boston Thursday
for his home in the Dominican Republic to begin the "active rest"
portion of his offseason conditioning program. The Red Sox ace was placed on the
15-day disabled list Tuesday with recurrent right shoulder inflammation.

"He'll be on active rest until the
end of the month," Red Sox Manager Joe Kerrigan said. "He starts up
light [workouts] in October. He'll then begin long toss in the first week of
December and report again on December 10 for a week with [Rehabilitation
Coordinator and Physical Therapist Chris] Correnti. He's going to come into
Spring Training one week early and he'll have been throwing off the mound before
then, but he's going to come in here and work with us one week early. So he's
made a commitment already for next year."

While Pedro Martínez was winging his
way home to the Dominican Republic, manager Joe Kerrigan was justifying the
injured ace's absence from the team even while other injured Red Sox are
sticking around despite the team's plunge into sinking-ship status. ...

The bottom line is that Martínez, who
will be 30 next month, will try a different offseason regimen in an effort to
stay active a whole season, something he hasn't been able to do the last three
seasons. "He's made a commitment for next year," said Kerrigan.
"He wants to be the pitcher he's capable of being. He said he's going to
come back with a new body, as a new man." ... "It's like
Manny," Trot Nixon said. "He needs to do things in the offseason to
make sure he can be healthy all year."

Pedro Martínez has departed for the
Dominican Republic, vowing to return stronger than ever in an effort to avoid
another physical breakdown next season. ... Sox manager Joe Kerrigan said that
sending Martínez home doesn't send a message to the rest of the team that a
double-standard applies for the team's stars. ... Martínez admitted he
exchanged harsh words with Kerrigan last Saturday during a workout at Fenway
Park, but denied growing reports that he tore off his practice jersey in anger.

As the best pitcher in baseball, Pedro Martínez,
prepared to bid Boston goodbye yesterday and board a flight home to the
Dominican Republic, manager Joe Kerrigan said the Red Sox had not afforded its
ailing ace special treatment by allowing him to split from the team with 17
games to play. ... Rod Beck, who has played with other superstars such as Barry
Bonds and Sammy Sosa, said it's no secret in professional sports that the
greatest players often are held to separate standards.

"We've worked with Pedro on a
program so that he can go home [to the Dominican Republic] and work on an active
rest period, and then he'll start his rehabilitation program for his shoulder
right after the season is done," Red Sox Executive Vice President and
General Manager Dan Duquette said.

"I need to get stronger and that's
what I will be doing this winter -- lifting weights," said Martínez. ...
"There's no need for surgery. From the first moment, I was told rehab was
the best thing to do. ... I would like to pitch. I would like to be in the game.
There's nothing I can do. I have to be smarter than that."

After plenty of contentious talk, the
Red Sox and Pedro Martínez yesterday finally agreed that he won't pitch again
this season. ... Martínez denied a Boston TV report that he and manager Joe
Kerrigan had a verbal confrontation on Saturday. Martínez said the two did
discuss his health but a Red Sox source confirmed that the two engaged in a
heated argument in the outfield during the workout. "Those are things that
happen in our house. We didn't have any argument," Martínez said. "We
didn't agree on something, and he said his part and I said my part. We talk and
either agree or disagree."

Pedro Martínez said Tuesday he will
miss the rest of the season with inflammation in his right shoulder, confirming
what had been expected since the team fell out of contention. "I would like
to pitch, but there's nothing I can do," he said while standing in the
Fenway Park stands in street clothes. "I have to be smart. There's nothing
I can do to bring the team back." ...

The decision follows a reported weekend
confrontation between Martínez and manager Joe Kerrigan. Martínez and Kerrigan
apparently had a disagreement at Saturday's workout. WBZ-TV in Boston reported
that Martínez stormed off the field, but team spokesman Kevin Shea denied the TV
station's version of the incident. The Boston Globe cited unnamed sources as
saying said Martínez and Kerrigan had "an animated discussion."

They returned to the field,
appropriately, wearing their customary red socks, white uniforms and blue caps
on a night when baseball meant nothing and everything at the same time. ... Martínez
has been no less or more affected by last week's happenings than many people.
"There were a lot of Dominicans probably working in that building,'' said Martínez,
a native of the Dominican Republic. He added: "I make my living in America
and I respect America because I basically live my life here.''

To the fans of Major League Baseball,
and the victims and families of Tuesday's terrorist attacks in New York and
Washington D.C.,

I'd like to start off by saying that
what I am writing is purely my opinion, and my family's feelings on these
issues. I am not speaking for any other players in baseball, or in any other
sport across our nation or around the world.

I'll begin by addressing the trivial
items addressed late this week as far as our sport is concerned. The decision
made by Commissioner Bud Selig on Thursday afternoon to resume games on Monday
was one overwhelmingly favored by the major-league players. In our conference
call on Thursday I got the impression that players, just like every other
American citizen out there, didn't need baseball right now, and it was probably
best said by Jerome Bettis when he stated, "We are entertainers, and I
don't think America wants to be entertained right now."

I believe that we all felt this way,
and hope that the few people in this country who wanted us to play understand
that we made the decision as citizens of this country, not as baseball players.

To the victims and families of the
tragedies inflicted on us this past week we send our hearts out to you, and our
prayers that you will find some comfort, some solace in the coming weeks as this
great country gets up on its feet and defends itself as the world's greatest
nation, with the world's greatest people.

Like a lot of people, my thoughts
Tuesday afternoon steered towards revenge, retaliation, retribution, in just how
hard we could hit back.

My first cognizant thought was,
"Man, did they pick on the wrong country." Then, after watching TV, I
began to realize that not only did they pick on the wrong country, but they
couldn't have picked a worse target. There is no city on this planet that more
represents its nation than New York does in the United States. New York is the
true definition of a melting pot. Every race, religion and color are represented
in New York, and on Tuesday you saw every race, every religion, every color,
come together as one nation of people fighting for one common goal -- to save
lives. I can honestly tell you that I have never been as proud to be an American
as I was that day, to see the men and women of this great country come together
and pour their blood, sweat and tears into saving those that could be saved.
They continue to do so today, and with no less effort. That in and of itself
should make us proud as hell.

My wife, Shonda, and our three young
children stepped outside on Friday at 7 p.m., lit a candle and prayed together.
We prayed that those heroic men and women of the NYPD, FDNY and the U.S.
Government that sacrificed their lives in the minutes following the first
explosion at the World Trade Center are now in a safe and beautiful place.

To those families that lost loved ones
in the NYPD and in the FDNY, I can only offer our sincerest thank you. Please
know that athletes in this country look to your husbands and wives as they may
have looked at the men of our profession when they were young, as heroes, as
idols, for they are everything every man should strive to be in life and they
died in a way reserved only for those who would make the ultimate sacrifice for
this nation, and for the freedom we oftentimes take for granted.

Words cannot heal your wounds, not even
time will heal the wounds for those who have suffered loss this week. But other
than money and blood, which I hope the players in MLB will be giving of both, it
is all we have to offer.

We will step on the fields of Major
League Baseball on Monday night, but please know that we are not doing this as
an aversion to forget what happened on Tuesday. Nothing will ever make us forget
that day. But we are doing so because it is our job, and I honestly feel that if
you do have a chance to catch a few minutes of a game, and see every sports fan
in every stadium stand for that initial moment of silence, and understand when
we do so that we do so for you, and for your families. And in the seventh-inning
stretch when this nation sings God Bless America, we do so because we can,
because in this country men and woman have died so that we can continue on as a
free nation, and we will be thinking of you then also.

And it's my belief that if you watch
close enough you will see players, many players in fact, trying in some small
way to say thank you, and that we won't forget you or your loved ones as some of
us will have messages scrawled somewhere on our hats or uniforms that you can
read.

We will proudly wear the great flag of
this country on our uniforms, and it's something I hope baseball adopts forever.

The flags in this country fly at
half-staff to honor those that have fallen, but the flags are the only thing
going halfway in this country and it's my belief that that will not change. I
believe our President when he says retribution will be swift and total; as an
American it's all I can go on, but based on what I have seen done these past few
days by other Americans it's more than enough.

To those out there that serve in the
military, and to those with children serving in the military, I offer my
sincerest thanks, and our prayers are with you and yours in the days and weeks
to come. We know you'll do us proud.

After expressing further concern about
his future over the weekend, Pedro Martínez is expected to be placed on the
disabled list today, officially ending his abbreviated and unfulfilling season. Martínez
and manager Joe Kerrigan exchanged terse words at Fenway Park on
Saturday, but a television report exaggerated the extent of emotion.

The Red Sox are expected to announce
that Pedro Martínez will not pitch again this season, a course of action the
team had been expected to take even before last Tuesday's terrorist attack put
the game on hold. But the official announcement today comes in the aftermath of
an apparent disagreement at Saturday's workout between the Sox ace and manager
Joe Kerrigan, one that ended, according to WBZ-TV's Bob Lobel, with Martínez storming off the field.

Life began to regain some normalcy
yesterday for the Red Sox, who returned to the field for the first time in
nearly a week with a four-hour workout at Fenway Park. ... Kerrigan said members
of the team lost friends and family members in last Tuesday's terrorist attacks,
but he refused to get into specifics, other than to say that no members of
immediate families were killed. ...

The Sox resume their schedule on
Tuesday, when they host the Devil Rays in the first of three games at Fenway.
Kerrigan said Hideo Nomo, David Cone and Frank Castillo will be the starting
pitchers in the series. Rookie Casey Fossum will get the nod Friday against
Detroit. Derek Lowe will make his delayed return to the starting rotation on
Saturday.

Bleary-eyed and haggard, the Red Sox
yesterday straggled into Fenway Park after 28 hours of travel by bus, rail, and
air, a grim odyssey made necessary by the terrorist atrocities at the World
Trade Center and the Pentagon.